Acro Frag mounting for better growth?

[JCOLE]

I have seen some who mount their Acro frags on top of another frag plug. The intention is so that the frag starts growing outward and upward because it doesn't want to grow under the plug where there is no light. I have never done this but it makes sense.

I am about to mount an additional 30+ frags in my display. I usually cut the stem off the plugs and mount directly to the rockwork. So this got me thinking. What if I kept the stems on and mounted to the rockwork? I realize this wouldn't look the best but if I can cut out the 3-6 of entrusting on the rockwork before doing anything then it might not be bad. Plus, if the they dont encrust right away then it seems they would be easy to relocate.

What say you Acro nuts? Does this sound like a good or bad idea? Like I said, I have 30+ frags so if anything, it would be a good experiment.

 

[Rmckoy]

Not really sure if I understand what you mean .
Leaving the plug and gluing it on top of another plug ?
Pictures would help

i leave mine in the frag rack until I can find a place for them .

cut the stem off the plug and glue to the rocks .
fingers crossed it encrusts .

 

[JCOLE]

Not really sure if I understand what you mean .
Leaving the plug and gluing it on top of another plug ?
Pictures would help

i leave mine in the frag rack until I can find a place for them .

cut the stem off the plug and glue to the rocks .
fingers crossed it encrusts .

Yes, some glue the bottom of the stem of one plug to the top of another. The intention is to skip the frag from encrusting and use its energy to grow outward. This is what I am trying to accomplish. When I cut the stem and mount directly to the rockwork I have 6 months of encrusting growth before it starts to grow up and outwards. Wondering if this would help eliminate that long wait.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of that before. I’ll let you be the guinea pig!

30 frags?

 

[BrianReefer]

@thirst may have opinion here!

 

[Rmckoy]

Yes, some glue the bottom of the stem of one plug to the top of another. The intention is to skip the frag from encrusting and use its energy to grow outward. This is what I am trying to accomplish. When I cut the stem and mount directly to the rockwork I have 6 months of encrusting growth before it starts to grow up and outwards. Wondering if this would help eliminate that long wait.

You would assume a solid base by encrusting first would only make it stronger later ?

 

[JCOLE]

You would assume a solid base by encrusting first would only make it stronger later ?

Yes. What i was thinking was if this theory works and a mini colony starts quickly then I could cut the stem off and permanently mount it.

 

[JCOLE]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of that before. I’ll let you be the guinea pig!

30 frags?

Yes sir! Had that crash months ago and now its time to start filling it back up. A smart reefer would see maybe 10 spots available

Not me, i found every spot possible.....

 

[TX_Punisher]

Mount a few horizontal. I’d rather see that than your other idea. keep us updated as I’ve never heard of the mounting technique you’re referring to.

GL

 

[JCOLE]

Mount a few horizontal. I’d rather see that than your other idea. keep us updated as I’ve never heard of the mounting technique you’re referring to.

GL

I thought of that also. Most i have mounted on their side in my frag tank although quicker, still spend a good amount of time encrusting before vertical growth.

Essentially I am just mounting the frags without removing the frag stems.

 

[Eldredge]

I had the same idea. This is an ORA Red Planet that was already encrusting down the side of the plug. It hasn’t grown enough to know if it will encrust under the plug before it grows up or not. Since it is a tabling coral, it might not be the best type for the experiment, but at least this shows what you are referring to I think.

 

[JCOLE]

I had the same idea. This is an ORA Red Planet that was already encrusting down the side of the plug. It hasn’t grown enough to know if it will encrust under the plug before it grows up or not. Since it is a tabling coral, it might not be the best type for the experiment, but at least this shows what you are referring to I think.

Yes, thats the idea. Please keep me updated on this one. Interested to see if it starts growing out and upward before trying to grow down the plug to encrust.

 

[fuelman]

I have seen some who mount their Acro frags on top of another frag plug. The intention is so that the frag starts growing outward and upward because it doesn't want to grow under the plug where there is no light. I have never done this but it makes sense.

I am about to mount an additional 30+ frags in my display. I usually cut the stem off the plugs and mount directly to the rockwork. So this got me thinking. What if I kept the stems on and mounted to the rockwork? I realize this wouldn't look the best but if I can cut out the 3-6 of entrusting on the rockwork before doing anything then it might not be bad. Plus, if the they dont encrust right away then it seems they would be easy to relocate.

What say you Acro nuts? Does this sound like a good or bad idea? Like I said, I have 30+ frags so if anything, it would be a good experiment.

I was watching the TSA walk through video on YouTube of their farm & they have all or most of the acro's mounted on posts type set up of what looks like pvc, kinda like you are saying. I wondered why but now it makes sense.

 

[Alexopora]

I have seen some who mount their Acro frags on top of another frag plug. The intention is so that the frag starts growing outward and upward because it doesn't want to grow under the plug where there is no light. I have never done this but it makes sense.

I am about to mount an additional 30+ frags in my display. I usually cut the stem off the plugs and mount directly to the rockwork. So this got me thinking. What if I kept the stems on and mounted to the rockwork? I realize this wouldn't look the best but if I can cut out the 3-6 of entrusting on the rockwork before doing anything then it might not be bad. Plus, if the they dont encrust right away then it seems they would be easy to relocate.

What say you Acro nuts? Does this sound like a good or bad idea? Like I said, I have 30+ frags so if anything, it would be a good experiment.

Ahh i get what you mean. Basically you are creating a shaded area around the frag plug to stop the sps from encrusting further resulting in forcing it to grow upwards.

 

[JCOLE]

Ahh i get what you mean. Basically you are creating a shaded area around the frag plug to stop the sps from encrusting further resulting in forcing it to grow upwards.

Yes, that is the idea atleast. Most of my acros encrust and lay a 3"+ base before growing up or out. This usually takes up to 4-6 months. If this works and they focus all of their energy in growing up or out then that would save a lot of time and potentially get them to mini colony size much quicker.

 

[JCOLE]

I was watching the TSA walk through video on YouTube of their farm & they have all or most of the acro's mounted on posts type set up of what looks like pvc, kinda like you are saying. I wondered why but now it makes sense.

A little different. Their system just seems to help spread out the colonies better for growth and the pvc mount system allows them to remove them to cut them up into frags. If you notice most, if not all, are mounted to a bigger tile which would allow the colony to lay down a big base which is different that what I am after.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

I'm not sure what you mean by that. I would be very lucky to get 30 frags at once!

 

[BCSreef]

Look forward to updates if you do choose to give it a try.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

Not really sure if I understand what you mean .
Leaving the plug and gluing it on top of another plug ?
Pictures would help

i leave mine in the frag rack until I can find a place for them .

cut the stem off the plug and glue to the rocks .
fingers crossed it encrusts .

Yeah I do that too

 

[panic]

I like to get a nice and fat base vs a tall and skinny piece. Once the coral gets huge, there will be a trunk for it to rest on vs a skinny base that can break easily. If you glue your frag down sideways the base will grow out wider than upright. On a 2" tile, you'll have 20 branches growing out of it around the same time that you'd have only a few if you start out upright.